The Chosen Seed
Notes
Transcript
Second Sunday of Advent Readings: Preparation
Second Sunday of Advent Readings: Preparation
The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth;
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Intro:
Intro:
AG: Keeping His Promises
God’s dealings with us are always on the order of what he did with Abram and Sarai. He makes his promises, and he will keep his promises; but just how and when he will keep them is something for which we must wait. But keep them he will, and in ways other and better than we can think, as he works for our good in all things [cf. Rom 8:28; Jer 29:11].
Taken from Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent by Ben Patterson Copyright (c) 1989 by Ben Patterson. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com
TS: Isaiah continues his discussion of God’s dealings with the nation of Israel. Isaiah conveys the Lord’s encouragement to his faithful people and calls Israel to be ready for the coming of the Lord.
RS: Since Christ returned to heaven, we have been living in the end times. The Bible describes the world of the end in several passages. We need to hear the same message Israel received: “Be ready!”. We are called to live always ready to meet the Lord. In the meantime, we live here and serve here for His glory.
I. The patriarch (51:1–2):
I. The patriarch (51:1–2):
“Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.
Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, And blessed him and increased him.”
God reminds the Israelites that they are descendants of Abraham and Sarah.
Abraham is the start of the whole nation. God multiplied His descendants just as He promised.
God chose Abraham and Sarah from all the people on Earth and made His covenant with Him.
Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Promised a land
The Land God showed them
Promised Greatness
Make Him a great nation
Make His name great
Abraham[a] (originally Abram)[b] is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews and God;
in Christianity, he is the spiritual progenitor of all believers, whether Jewish or non-Jewish;[c][6]
In Islam, he is a link in the chain of Islamic prophets that begins with Adam (see Adam in Islam) and culminates in Muhammad.
Nations among His descendents
According to the Bible, Abraham is considered to be the progenitor of many nations mentioned in the Bible, among others the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Edomites, Amalekites, Kenizzites, Midianites and Assyrians, and through his nephew Lot he was also related to the Moabites and Ammonites.
Promised Protection
Promised Blessings
II. The promise (51:3–8):
II. The promise (51:3–8):
For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the Lord; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
“Listen to Me, My people; And give ear to Me, O My nation: For law will proceed from Me, And I will make My justice rest As a light of the peoples.
My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait upon Me, And on My arm they will trust.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, And look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, The earth will grow old like a garment, And those who dwell in it will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not be abolished.
“Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My law: Do not fear the reproach of men, Nor be afraid of their insults.
For the moth will eat them up like a garment, And the worm will eat them like wool; But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation from generation to generation.”
These verses refer to the coming Millennium, at which time God promises to destroy Israel’s enemies and to rule over the nations.
The same God whose power fulfilled His promises to Abraham to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, a paradise, would deliver them and bring justice
When Messiah rules, all wrongs would be made right.
He will bring law, justice, and light to all peoples.
v6. There will be a renewed Earth
During tribulation, John MacArthur interprets Revelation to be an “uncreation”. The face of the Earth will change, the celestial bodies will be different with changes in light, dark, stars falling, etc.
In the Millennial Reign, in many ways the paradise of Eden will be restored.
v. 8 Though other things will wear out, God’s righteousness will endure.
III. The prayer (51:9–11):
III. The prayer (51:9–11):
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord! Awake as in the ancient days, In the generations of old. Are You not the arm that cut Rahab apart, And wounded the serpent?
Are You not the One who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; That made the depths of the sea a road For the redeemed to cross over?
So the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
By faith Israel calls upon God to do all he promised to do.
This prayer of deliverance for the future is based on the faithfulness of God in the past.
Praying the promises of God is a great place to be
God always answers prayer:
Yes
No
Not Now
When we pray the promises of God, we know His will already.
Pray for GOD to do His will
Pray for GOD to keep His word
IV. The protection (51:12–16):
IV. The protection (51:12–16):
“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid Of a man who will die, And of the son of a man who will be made like grass?
And you forget the Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth; You have feared continually every day Because of the fury of the oppressor, When he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor?
The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed, That he should not die in the pit, And that his bread should not fail.
But I am the Lord your God, Who divided the sea whose waves roared— The Lord of hosts is His name.
And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ”
The Lord personally assures the Israelites that he will protect them.
God had come through for them in the past:
Divided the sea so Israel could cross over on dry land.
He reminds them about His past protection as He promises future protection.
God’s provision in the past reassures us of the future as well.
V. The proclamations (51:17–23; 52:1–6, 11–12):
V. The proclamations (51:17–23; 52:1–6, 11–12):
Jerusalem receives two divine “wake-up” calls!
1. First call—regarding God’s punishment (51:17–23):
1. First call—regarding God’s punishment (51:17–23):
Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk at the hand of the Lord The cup of His fury; You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, And drained it out.
There is no one to guide her Among all the sons she has brought forth; Nor is there any who takes her by the hand Among all the sons she has brought up.
These two things have come to you; Who will be sorry for you?— Desolation and destruction, famine and sword— By whom will I comfort you?
Your sons have fainted, They lie at the head of all the streets, Like an antelope in a net; They are full of the fury of the Lord, The rebuke of your God.
Therefore please hear this, you afflicted, And drunk but not with wine.
Thus says your Lord, The Lord and your God, Who pleads the cause of His people: “See, I have taken out of your hand The cup of trembling, The dregs of the cup of My fury; You shall no longer drink it.
But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, Who have said to you, ‘Lie down, that we may walk over you.’ And you have laid your body like the ground, And as the street, for those who walk over.”
This punishment has to do with transferring the cup of God’s wrath.
a. It will be taken from the city of Jerusalem (51:17–22): They have suffered long enough! Their pain will be taken away.
God’s wrath complete, He removes the cup
God’s love tempers His wrath and defines a limit.
They aren’t cast away forever, just for a season.
When the time of wrath had ended, the cup would pass.
b. It will be given to the enemies of Jerusalem (51:23):
They will drink of that terrible cup.
Once removed from Judah, the cup of wrath would be poured out upon the surrounding nations
We read many of these proclamations in the early chapters of Isaiah.
2. Second call—regarding God’s power (52:1–6, 11–12)
2. Second call—regarding God’s power (52:1–6, 11–12)
a. Be clothed with God’s strength (52:1–2).
Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean Shall no longer come to you.
Shake yourself from the dust, arise; Sit down, O Jerusalem! Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion!
Their weakness would be set aside like worn out clothes and they would be clothed anew with the strength of GOD.
The same strength which allowed Sampson to slay many enemie
The same strength which made her enemies fight each other instead of Israel.
The same strength which led a shepherd, David, to slay a Giant, Goliath.
b. Be delivered by God’s strength (52:3–6, 11–12):
For thus says the Lord: “You have sold yourselves for nothing, And you shall be redeemed without money.”
For thus says the Lord God: “My people went down at first Into Egypt to dwell there; Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
Now therefore, what have I here,” says the Lord, “That My people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them Make them wail,” says the Lord, “And My name is blasphemed continually every day.
Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day That I am He who speaks: ‘Behold, it is I.’ ”
Depart! Depart! Go out from there, Touch no unclean thing; Go out from the midst of her, Be clean, You who bear the vessels of the Lord.
For you shall not go out with haste, Nor go by flight; For the Lord will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
God’s people will be delivered from Babylon, and they will recognize his voice.
God runs a thread of reassurance through the book of Isaiah.
It is woven between proclamations of judgment on Judah and her enemies.
The thread of redemption remains to this day.
VI. The preaching (52:7–10):
VI. The preaching (52:7–10):
How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, With their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye When the Lord brings back Zion.
Break forth into joy, sing together, You waste places of Jerusalem! For the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God.
Israel is to shout the glorious news of God’s salvation from the mountaintops.
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
Once delivered, they are to testify to God’s grace
We do the same!
We are redeemed from our sin
We should SAY SO!
Give thanks
Share the good news!
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
[1] H. L. Willmington, The Outline Bible(Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1999), Is 51–52:10.
Abraham - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham